etcog happenings - East Texas Council of Governments

ETCOG HAPPENINGS
East Texas Council of Governments Newsletter
December 2015
500+ East Texans Participate in
Hiring Red, White, & You!
Veterans Job Fairs
The Texas Workforce Commission proudly hosted the fourth annual Hiring Red, White
and You! statewide job fair on November 12. In cooperation with 28 Workforce
Solutions partners, the Hiring Red, White and You! Job Fair connected Texas veterans
and their spouses with Texas employers who value the experience, discipline and
other exceptional qualities inherent with a military background.
Workforce Solutions East Texas participated in this event by holding job fairs in Tyler
at Green Acres Baptist Church, and Longview at Mobberly Baptist Church. "Our
objective was to honor veterans and assist in making a connection with our local
employers and with our veterans, their spouses also and any other job seekers that
are looking for employment," said Doug Shryock, ETCOG’s Director of Workforce &
Economic Development.
The two local events saw a total of 549 attendees, with 168 attendees indicating their
veteran status. It is estimated that there are 927,000 veterans in Texas who are
eligible for work. By holding these Hiring Red, White and You! Hiring fairs across the
state, Texas employers can more easily connect to this highly qualified group of
service men and women across the state.
*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Christmas Holiday
Office Closures
ETCOG and Area Agency on
Aging offices will be closed
December 24th through
December 25th to observe
Christmas, and January 1st for
New Years Day.
GoBus rural transportation
services will be closed on
these dates and December
23rd.
4th Annual Hiring Red, White, & You! Veterans Job Fair (Photo by Longview News-Journal)
We wish you a Merry
Christmas & Happy New Year!
Child Care
Performance
What About Me? Conference
On November 14, the Area Agency on Aging of East Texas and the St.
Louis Baptist Church’s (Tyler) Care and Comfort Ministry hosted What
About Me?, a free conference and luncheon honoring family caregivers
in the East Texas area.
The conference was a great way for caregivers of all ages from to come
together and connect with each other and find resources and rejuvenate
themselves to continue help their loves who suffer from depleting and
chronic health issues.
The program that consisted of purpose and inspirational songs and
messages brought over 100 participants and their loved ones from
surrounding communities to receive help and resources available from a
panel of experts in their field that work with caregivers and loved ones
affected by chronic health issues.
The expert panel discussed Pearls of Wisdom by helping the caregiver
in taking care of themselves and available resources to meet the needs
of their loved ones and self. The Area Agency on Aging’s, Carol
Jackson, spoke of being prepared financially and the cost of care of
resources when caring for a loved one. Local Attorney Valita Waits
discussed decision making for caregivers and loved ones, including legal
issues and end-of-life-decisions. Steve Houston with the Allegiance
Specialty Resources supplied information on mental health resources in
the area. This conference took a unique look at the spiritual needs
endured during a time of challenges. Rev. Richard Taliaferro of the St.
Louis Baptist Church led this discussion. The audience was informed of
local resources for caregivers provided by Joy Neal, LMSW. Ms. Neal
highlighted those caregivers and loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease
and dementia. The panel rounded out with Doris Parker Johnson, who
delved into guilt and caregivers having to take the alternative approach
of placing loved ones in hospice or a nursing facility.
Closing remarks came from our guest speaker, Piper Dellums, an Emmy
Winning Producer from Los Angeles, CA. Piper shared words of
encouragement and appreciation of the wonderful work that family
members and caregivers provide, while noting her personal story of
being a victim to becoming victorious through the help of others.
It is a goal of Workforce Solutions East
Texas to provide child care assistance and
quality child care to parents working to
improve their lives and the lives of their
children. These are some of the efforts
made to enhance our child care
assistance program:
Year End Results of FY 15
Total Funds - $331,938
Director/Assistant Provider Academies

4 Sponsored

124 in attendance
53 Texas Rising Star (TRS) Staff
representing 12 TRS Providers received
Child Development Associate (CDA)
training

48 credentialed

62 child care staff enrolled in CDA
training currently
Texas Rising Star Providers (TRS)

Began year with 23

Presently have 23

Potential of adding 23 more

At least 1 TRS Provider in 13 of 14
counties
Increased Infant/Toddler Capacity by 113

Purchased cribs, etc.
Additional Assistance

Technical Assistance and Mentoring
at 41 Centers

Gave a one-time bonus of $1,000 for
needed items to 20 Providers

Purchased Curriculum for 7 Providers

Security System purchased for 1

Playground purchased for 1 Provider

953 child care staff received one or
more trainings
Twenty-Five Criminal Justice
Grants Aiming to Improve Safety
Approved
Contact ETCOG
East Texas Council
of Governments
3800 Stone Road
Kilgore, TX 75662
(903) 218-6400
[email protected]
Visit us on the web at
www.etcog.org
Giving Thanks
ETCOG had 41 staff
members donate to our
canned food drive this year.
Each participant donated a
minimum of 5 cans, with
many staff bringing more
than the requirement. We
were excited to deliver
approximately 200+ food
items to Helping Hands of
Kilgore prior to Thanksgiving
break to aid in their holiday
preparations.
In ETCOG’s Public Safety Division, grant funds from the
Governor’s Office, Criminal Justice Division (CJD) are
awarded annually to programs that help prevent violence
in and around schools, provide training and equipment to
law enforcement, combat family violence, sexual assault,
dating violence and stalking crimes, disrupt and prevent
gang activity, reduce juvenile delinquency, provide
assistance to victims of crime, and improve the criminal
justice system. The projects listed below were approved
for FY2016 funding, by CJD, under the following funding
sources: State Funds 421 (SF-421); Edward Byrne
Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (JAG); Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA) and Victims of Crime Act
(VOCA).
State Funds 421 Grant Funding - $215,286 Granted
 ETCOG - Regional Evaluation Services for Juveniles - $55,249
 Van Zandt County - Vocational/Occupational Initiatives Creating Employment $47,949
 City of Longview - Teen Court - $16,387
 Upshur County - Family Violence Intervention Program - $39,194
 Anderson County - Women’s Case Manager - $56,505
Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Funding - $275,599 Granted
 City of Palestine - Multiple Interview Room Recording System - $10,063
 City of Kilgore - Automatic License Plate Reader Project - $55,527
 City of Winnsboro - Data Disbursement/Collection Equipment Grant - $22,384
 Anderson County - Juvenile Detention and Sheriff’s Office Equipment - $53,893
 City of Longview - Mobile Data Terminals - $25,000
 City of Tyler - Specialized Gang Investigator - $63,956
 City of Wills Point - Vehicle and Camera Project - $44,775
Violence Against Women Act Funding - $159,920 Granted
 Gregg County - Violence Against Women Prosecution Project - $72,511
 Cherokee County - Violence Against Women Prosecution Project - $87,409
Victims of Crime Act - $1,633,765 Granted
 Women’s Center of East Texas - Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Rural
Nonresidential Services - $376,250
 East Texas Crisis Center, Inc. - Victim Assistance Program - $333,333
 Gregg County - Victims Assistance Coordinator Project - $102,277
 Van Zandt County - Victims Assistance Project - $95,081
 Friends of Partners in Prevention - Mentoring Project - $70,125
 Upshur County - Victim Services Project - $86,250
 Crisis Center of Anderson and Cherokee Counties - Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault Advocacy for Rural Communities - $130,000
 Family Peace Project, Inc. - Shelter and Non-Residential Victims Program $221,786
 Cherokee County - Victim Assistance Project - $43,409
 City of Kilgore - Victim Services Coordinator - $49,378
 Henderson County HELP Center - Helping Crime Victims through Crisis and Beyond $125,874